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thewarningafter

@beyonce

You've reached Dr. Stephen Strange. Leave a message and my secretary will get back to you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

thewarningafter

[Stephen raises an eyebrow, gives Tony a questioning look.]

Alright...?

From:

definingfuture

I kept some of the Vicodin. I want to- I need you to take it.

From:

thewarningafter

Any particular reason why you did that?

[House was carrying an excessive amount of Vicodin, yeah, but Stephen had assumed Tony meant to give it all back.]

That's not a no, by the way, if you need me to take it I'll take it.

From:

definingfuture

Because I didn't have much of a choice.

[He's not sure if he should tell Stephen why he kept the pills. It's an extra weight on Stephen's shoulders. But Tony doesn't have a whole lot of people to turn to either.]

Alfie Solomons contacted me. He said if I handed the bottle to House, then he'd take it back. The word "interest" was tossed around.

I don't want him to know these pills exist.

From:

thewarningafter

[Stephen sucks in a breath.]

Funny thing. I've just been to see Alfie today. Not a word about it from him, so I guess congrats on picking the right guy to hide it from him.

[He pauses, considers. What he's about to say is a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality, but Alfie had breached a hell of a lot bigger ethical codes when he cleaned House out.]

He's got a couple of broken ribs. I don't think he's going anywhere in a hurry.

From:

definingfuture

I don't think he'll mention it. I told him I dumped them down the drain. He wants me to tell everyone publicly.

[Tony's heart sinks a little.]

He did say Emily got hurt. I- I figured they must have had some trouble. I would have handed them over to him, but he started making threats. Hand them over or people get hurt.

I know he and John are friends, so he has resources to get more medicine, but hurting other people on principle just because they- I want other people to have these.

From:

thewarningafter

God, Tony.

[Stephen lets out a groan.]

I'm with you in principle, but just about everyone in that group has at least one broken bone. If we weren't running low I'd've handed out a few prescriptions myself.

From:

definingfuture

He can't hurt other people to save himself, Stephen. He tried to use violence as a reason. If I handed them over based on that, how many other people would get the same treatment?

If you really think he needs them, then I understand. They're hurt. But with supplies limited, do you think he'll be offering them back if someone else gets injured?

If he finds out they're still with me, what happens then?

From:

thewarningafter

Of course he won't.

[And that's what has him hesitating, this knowledge that Alfie sees medicine as a trade good. That he's willing to take advantage of someone completely helpless, to indiscriminately steal that man's things when he's thwarted in his efforts to steal specific resources.]

Alright. Alright, even if I decide to prescribe him anything, he can't have that Vicodin. Not now. I'm south of the school; where are you now?

From:

definingfuture

I'm close to the school. Once you get to the residential area, we can meet.

Thanks, Stephen. I want him to get help, but I don't like that he's willing to push people around to get that help. It'll only hurt others, and if there's someone with medicine that actually needs it... Look, this situation isn't going to get better. The tighter our resources are, the worse people will be.

I don't want to pick who deserves help. I just want- to help.

[Even if that makes him a thief and a liar.]

From:

thewarningafter

I get it. Really, I get it.

[This just sucks a lot.]

I can head north tomorrow. I'm with Claire right now; I don't know that it's a good idea to involve her. She has enough on her plate right now.

From:

definingfuture

Okay. Yeah. Since Alfie mentioned her by name, I agree that involving her might not be the best plan.

[Even though he doesn't think Alfie would hurt Claire, he still doesn't like putting the pills so close to the man's reach.]

From:

thewarningafter

He did what?

[Stephen missed this part.]

From:

definingfuture

He told me I should give the pills to someone else. He specifically suggested Claire and John. Since I know he's used John before, I declined and told him I was dumping the bottle.

I don't want to involve people he's comfortable with.

From:

thewarningafter

If he's comfortable with her, I don't know that the feeling's mutual.

I'll think of something to tell her.

From:

definingfuture

Thanks, Stephen. I don't want to involve more people in this. Maybe she doesn't feel comfortable with him, but that doesn't mean he won't try to steal from her.